Vung Tau tour operators lament ban

The ban against bathing in the sea between 5pm and 7am is causing difficulties for Vung Tau's tourism industry.

Doan The Long of Vung Tau-Paradise JV Co said the ban is unreasonable and his company has petitioned authorities to extend the permitted time. He said his company cannot keep its beach open before 7am and after 5pm when lifeguards do not work.

The ban was issued in August 1996 but only enforced on May 27 this year.

The central city of Da Nang only allows bathing in the sea from 4.30am to 7pm.

Cham folk arts attracts visitors

A programme featuring Cham folk arts held every Saturday and Sunday at the Po Sah Inu towers since mid-June has attracted more visitors to Binh Thuan Province.

The 45-minute programme, organised by the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism at a 200-seat venue built outside the towers, features traditional Cham songs, dances, and orchestral performances by artists of the Bien Xanh Troupe.

Located on Ba Nai Hill in Phan Thiet town, the Po Sah Inu towers are a unique complex where the Cham organise cultural and arts activities like the annual Kate festival.

In the first half of this year, the programme, called Po Sah Inu, welcomed more than 25,000 visitors, a fifth of whom were foreigners.

Hoi An prison site yields relics

Experts from the Hoi An Centre for Cultural Heritage Conservation recently discovered 18 objects during the restoration of the Hoi An prison, an important historical site.

The objects include tools and weapons used by the French colonialists to repress prisoners such as leg chains, falchions, and cartridge belts. Prisoners' items and utensils like spoons, coffee filters, a Chinese chess set, pots, a spool of thread, and pieces of a cast iron pan were also found.

The 2ha site on Ly Thuong Kiet Street was built by the French at the end of the 19th century to jail patriots joining the anti-French movements in Quang Nam and other central provinces.

Malaysia promotes tourism dinner

A travel fair and a special "networking dinner" will showcase several aspects of Malaysian culture and tourism attractions to the residents of Da Nang beginning this evening.

The Malaysian Consul General in Viet Nam, Azmill Mohd Zabidi, dancing troupes, teh tarik (pulled tea) artists and travel companies from Malaysia are in the central city tonight to promote and participate in the events.

Travel companies based in Da Nang as well as city residents will have the opportunity to learn more about "beautiful and modern Malaysia with diversified culture and interesting travel activities", said a press release from the Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board.

The Malaysia Tourism Updates&Travel Mart and Networking Dinner 2012, will start at 5pm at Hoang Anh Gia Lai Hotel, featuring dance and music performances as well as a teh tarik demonstration.

Tomorrow and on Sunday, the travel fair Fun in Malaysia will be held at Vinh Trung Plaza, where Da Nang residents can enjoy traditional dances and drink teh tarik while learning about Malaysia travel products.

130 new hotels open in HCM City

Around 130 new hotels opened in HCM City in the first half of 2012, mostly of the one and two-star classification, with an average of 10 rooms in the former and 20 in the latter, according to the city's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The city now has nearly 1,000 hotels with more than 28,900 rooms. The occupancy rate at three- to five-star hotels in the first six months was 67 per cent, a drop of three percentage points from the same period last year, and their average room rent was VND1.95 million (US$85) per night.

Thirty-five new travel firms providing international services also opened in the first six months of the year.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News